Battery life

The Sony Xperia Z2 goes in this chapter with a small advantage - it houses a 3,200mAh battery, compared to 2,800mAh for the Samsung Galaxy S5. That 400mAh worth of an advantage accounts for just over 14% of the total capacity but the real difference will be made by how power efficient each phone is.

The Xperia Z2 sits near the top of our battery life table with a massive 89 hours of endurance rating. That's nearly four full days on a single charge. In comparison, the Galaxy S5 "only" lasts three days, with a 72 hour rating.

The Z2 isn't just a marathon runner though, it bested the Galaxy S5 in each of our three tests. It was a relatively slim victory in the call test with just under an hour more.

Talk time

Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 LTE46:44h

Nokia Lumia 62530:58h

Nokia Lumia 152028:34h

Sony Xperia Z126:53h

Samsung P6800 Galaxy Tab 7.725:45h

LG G Pro 225:37h

LG G Flex25:19h

Sony Xperia T2 Ultra25:16h

Huawei Ascend Mate25:12h

Alcatel Hero25:02h

Oppo N125:01h

LG G225:01h

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo24:52h

Sony Xperia Z Ultra24:23h

Samsung P6200 Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus22:42h

Huawei MediaPad 7 Vogue22:16h

Sony Xperia Z222:13h

HTC One Max22:13h

Nokia Lumia 132022:13h

Samsung Galaxy Core LTE22:13h

Nokia Lumia 102022:13h

Samsung Galaxy S521:20h

Motorola RAZR MAXX21:18h

LG Optimus G Pro E98520:45h

Sony Xperia Z1 Compact20:42h

Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX20:24h

Motorola RAZR i XT89020:07h

HTC One (M8)20:01h

BlackBerry Q1020:00h

Samsung Galaxy Grand 219:55h

Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 I920019:54h

Sony Xperia SP19:49h

HTC Butterfly S19:14h

Oppo R81919:03h

Samsung Galaxy Note 318:12h

LG G2 mini18:11h

Oppo Find 7a18:11h

Samsung I9505 Galaxy S418:03h

Sony Xperia ZR17:48h

Samsung Galaxy Note II N710016:57h

HTC Desire 700 dual sim16:56h

Samsung Ativ Odyssey I93016:41h

Sony Xperia M216:40h

Samsung I9295 Galaxy S4 Active16:40h

LG Nexus 516:40h

Sony Xperia Z16:03h

Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom15:32h

LG Optimus G E97515:30h

Sony Xperia ZL15:22h

Nokia Lumia 72015:17h

HTC Desire 81614:46h

Nokia Lumia 63014:46h

BlackBerry Q514:31h

Pantech Discover14:17h

Huawei Ascend P614:17h

Oppo Find 514:17h

Nokia Lumia 62014:17h

LG Nexus 4 E96014:17h

Nokia Lumia Icon14:15h

Motorola Moto G13:41h

HTC One13:38h

Huawei Ascend P713:36h

Nokia Lumia 52013:33h

HTC One X+13:31h

Sony Xperia C13:29h

Samsung Galaxy Grand Neo13:20h

Samsung I9190 Galaxy S4 mini13:10h

Samsung Galaxy Grand I908212:45h

LG Optimus GJ E975W12:39h

HTC First12:31h

Motorola DROID RAZR M12:31h

Sony Xperia M12:31h

Sony Xperia L12:30h

Huawei Ascend P112:30h

Nokia Lumia 92812:27h

HTC Butterfly12:18h

Samsung Galaxy S III I74712:18h

Samsung Galaxy Note N700012:14h

HTC One mini12:04h

HTC Desire 600 dual sim11:58h

Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam11:58h

Samsung Galaxy Core I826011:52h

HTC Desire 50011:31h

Samsung Galaxy Premier I926011:30h

HTC DROID Incredible 4G LTE11:25h

Asus PadFone 211:20h

Nokia X11:13h

HTC DROID DNA11:07h

Samsung S8600 Wave 311:07h

LG Optimus L9 P76011:07h

HTC One SV11:07h

HTC Windows Phone 8X11:07h

Samsung I9105 Galaxy S II Plus11:06h

HTC Desire X11:03h

Meizu MX311:02h

Samsung I9500 Galaxy S411:01h

Apple iPhone 5s10:46h

Apple iPhone 5c10:18h

Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III10:15h

Samsung S7710 Galaxy Xcover 210:03h

Samsung Galaxy Express I873010:00h

Meizu MX 4-core10:00h

HTC One V10:00h

HTC One mini 209:58h

HTC One X9:57h

HTC One S C29:42h

HTC One S9:42h

Samsung I9103 Galaxy R9:40h

Samsung Galaxy Ace 39:32h

HTC Sensation XL9:30h

Sony Xperia J9:14h

Nokia Lumia 8109:05h

Acer CloudMobile S5009:05h

Nokia Lumia 7109:05h

Motorola ATRIX HD MB8869:04h

HTC Vivid9:02h

Nokia Lumia 9208:56h

Nokia Lumia 6108:51h

HTC Rhyme8:48h

Apple iPhone 58:42h

LG Optimus 3D Max P7208:42h

Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V8:41h

Meizu MX8:39h

Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II8:35h

Samsung Galaxy S Duos S75628:28h

Nokia Lumia 8008:25h

The decisive victory in the individual tests comes in the web browser department, where the Sony Xperia Z2 enjoys a nearly two hour lead on its rival. It lasts nearly half a day of constant browsing so even after extended web sessions you'll have plenty of battery charge left. The Galaxy S5 tried to put up a fight, but just couldn't keep up.

Web browsing

Sony Xperia C12:45h

Nokia Lumia 152012:40h

Sony Xperia Z1 Compact12:37h

HTC Desire 700 dual sim12:30h

Sony Xperia T2 Ultra12:17h

HTC Desire 81611:48h

Sony Xperia Z211:32h

LG G211:22h

HTC One Max11:20h

Sony Xperia ZR11:20h

HTC Butterfly S11:07h

LG G2 mini11:02h

Nokia Lumia 132010:58h

BlackBerry Q510:04h

HTC One9:58h

Apple iPhone 5s9:58h

Apple iPhone 59:56h

Samsung Ativ Odyssey I9309:54h

Sony Xperia M29:48h

Samsung I9190 Galaxy S4 mini9:47h

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo9:43h

Alcatel Hero9:40h

Samsung Galaxy Core LTE9:37h

Samsung Galaxy S59:36h

LG G Pro 29:31h

LG G Flex9:31h

Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 LTE9:16h

Motorola RAZR MAXX9:12h

HTC One (M8)9:06h

Oppo N19:05h

Samsung Galaxy Grand 29:05h

Apple iPhone 5c9:05h

Samsung Galaxy Note 39:04h

Motorola Moto G9:04h

Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom8:51h

Samsung Galaxy Note II N71008:48h

BlackBerry Q108:42h

Asus PadFone 28:20h

Nokia Lumia 8108:20h

Huawei Ascend Mate8:17h

Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 I92008:17h

HTC One mini8:12h

Nokia Lumia 6108:01h

HTC One X+7:56h

Nokia Lumia 6307:54h

Samsung Galaxy Grand Neo7:43h

Motorola DROID RAZR M7:42h

Sony Xperia E dual7:42h

Samsung I8190 Galaxy S III mini7:38h

Nokia Lumia 7207:37h

Samsung I9295 Galaxy S4 Active7:35h

Samsung I9505 Galaxy S47:24h

Huawei MediaPad 7 Vogue7:23h

Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX7:23h

HTC Radar7:17h

Nokia Lumia 5207:15h

Huawei Ascend P77:13h

LG Optimus GJ E975W7:11h

Oppo Find 7a7:09h

Samsung Galaxy Grand I90827:09h

Sony Xperia M7:09h

Meizu MX37:09h

Samsung Galaxy Express I87307:09h

Nokia Lumia 6257:07h

Motorola RAZR i XT8907:06h

Sony Xperia J7:06h

Samsung I9500 Galaxy S46:58h

Apple iPhone 4s6:56h

Samsung P6800 Galaxy Tab 7.76:54h

Samsung Galaxy Core I82606:54h

HTC One V6:49h

LG Optimus G Pro E9856:40h

Sony Xperia L6:40h

Samsung Galaxy Premier I92606:40h

HTC DROID DNA6:40h

Samsung I9105 Galaxy S II Plus6:40h

Motorola ATRIX HD MB8866:40h

BlackBerry Curve 93806:40h

Sony Xperia E6:40h

HTC First6:39h

Samsung Galaxy Ace 36:38h

Sony Xperia Z6:37h

Samsung S7710 Galaxy Xcover 26:35h

HTC Desire 600 dual sim6:34h

HTC One mini 206:33h

HTC Desire 5006:31h

Huawei Ascend P66:30h

Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III6:27h

BlackBerry Z106:27h

HTC Butterfly6:24h

Sony Xperia SP6:18h

Samsung Galaxy S III I7476:16h

HTC One SV6:15h

Samsung Focus S I9376:15h

Nokia Lumia 5106:13h

Sony Xperia ZL6:04h

Samsung Galaxy mini 2 S65006:03h

Samsung P6200 Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus6:02h

Oppo R8196:01h

HTC Windows Phone 8X6:01h

Sony Xperia Z15:59h

Sony Xperia ion LTE5:56h

Samsung Galaxy Fame S68105:55h

Samsung Rugby Smart I8475:53h

Pantech Burst5:51h

Nokia Lumia 10205:50h

HTC DROID Incredible 4G LTE5:48h

Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G T7695:45h

Nokia Lumia 9205:40h

Nokia Lumia 9285:36h

Samsung S8600 Wave 35:34h

Pantech Discover5:33h

Oppo Find 55:33h

Samsung i927 Captivate Glide5:33h

Sony Xperia T5:33h

Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam5:28h

Nokia Lumia 9005:25h

Samsung Galaxy Note I7175:24h

Sony Xperia Z Ultra5:23h

Samsung Galaxy S Duos S75625:23h

HTC Sensation XL5:20h

Meizu MX 4-core5:19h

Nokia Lumia Icon5:17h

HTC Desire X5:16h

HTC Rezound5:16h

Sony Xperia acro S5:16h

LG Optimus G E9755:15h

HTC Rhyme5:08h

Samsung I9103 Galaxy R5:07h

LG Optimus L9 P7605:02h

Nokia X4:55h

Sony Ericsson Xperia pro4:50h

LG Optimus Vu F100S4:49h

LG Nexus 54:46h

HTC Vivid4:46h

Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos S68024:45h

Meizu MX4:35h

The Xperia Z2 takes its third victory in the video playback test. The advantage here is about an hour, but if you think about it in reverse, the Z2 will be left with more charge in the battery after watching the same movie on both phones.

Video playback

LG G Flex19:57h

Motorola RAZR MAXX16:35h

Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX14:17h

Samsung Galaxy Note 313:32h

Sony Xperia T2 Ultra13:12h

Samsung I9190 Galaxy S4 mini13:12h

Nokia Lumia 102013:12h

HTC One Max13:11h

Sony Xperia C12:53h

Samsung Galaxy Premier I926012:51h

Nokia Lumia 152012:31h

Samsung I9505 Galaxy S412:30h

BlackBerry Q512:28h

Huawei Ascend Mate12:18h

Sony Xperia Z212:16h

Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 LTE12:10h

LG G211:51h

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo11:38h

Samsung P6800 Galaxy Tab 7.711:37h

Samsung I9500 Galaxy S411:29h

Samsung Galaxy Note II N710011:27h

Oppo N111:15h

BlackBerry Q1011:15h

HTC One (M8)11:14h

Samsung Galaxy S511:05h

HTC Desire 81610:34h

Apple iPhone 5s10:31h

LG G2 mini10:23h

Apple iPhone 510:12h

Sony Xperia M210:04h

HTC First10:03h

HTC One10:02h

Sony Xperia Z1 Compact10:01h

Samsung Galaxy Express I873010:00h

Samsung I9105 Galaxy S II Plus10:00h

Nokia 808 PureView9:53h

Alcatel Hero9:49h

Sony Xperia M9:49h

Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam9:42h

Samsung Rugby Smart I8479:34h

Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom9:30h

HTC One S C29:28h

HTC One S9:28h

Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III9:27h

Apple iPhone 4s9:24h

Samsung Galaxy mini 2 S65009:22h

Oppo Find 7a9:19h

Nokia Lumia 13209:17h

HTC Butterfly S9:03h

Motorola DROID RAZR M9:00h

Sony Xperia E9:00h

Samsung Ativ Odyssey I9308:59h

Sony Xperia Z Ultra8:45h

BlackBerry Z108:44h

Samsung Galaxy Grand 28:41h

LG Optimus G Pro E9858:40h

Nokia N98:40h

Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 I92008:34h

HTC Butterfly8:28h

Samsung Galaxy Note N70008:25h

LG Optimus GJ E975W8:15h

Samsung Galaxy S III I7478:14h

HTC One X+8:11h

Samsung Galaxy Grand I90828:11h

Motorola RAZR i XT8908:11h

Sony Xperia J8:11h

Huawei Ascend P78:10h

Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II8:00h

Samsung Focus S I9377:55h

Samsung S8600 Wave 37:52h

HTC Desire 5007:50h

Samsung I8190 Galaxy S III mini7:46h

Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V7:45h

Apple iPhone 5c7:41h

Asus PadFone 27:38h

Huawei Ascend P17:38h

Nokia Lumia Icon7:34h

Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G T7697:33h

Sony Xperia ZR7:30h

Samsung Galaxy Core I82607:30h

HTC DROID DNA7:30h

Samsung S7710 Galaxy Xcover 27:30h

Samsung Galaxy Note I7177:30h

Sony Xperia SP7:27h

HTC One mini7:23h

Nokia Lumia 6107:23h

LG Optimus G E9757:16h

Nokia Lumia 6307:06h

Samsung I9295 Galaxy S4 Active7:03h

Samsung Galaxy Grand Neo6:55h

Huawei Ascend P66:55h

HTC One SV6:55h

Pantech Discover6:55h

Samsung Galaxy Ace 36:54h

Nokia Lumia 9286:54h

HTC DROID Incredible 4G LTE6:51h

HTC Desire 600 dual sim6:49h

Nokia Lumia 7206:43h

Huawei MediaPad 7 Vogue6:40h

Motorola Moto G6:37h

Nokia Lumia 9006:37h

In the end, the Sony Xperia Z2 will likely last you a day longer than the Samsung Galaxy S5 in an identical use pattern. Both phones will last you through the day, but if you forget to charge your phone you can get away with it easier with the Xperia than with the Galaxy.

Both phones have power-saving modes that disable some of the phone's features to extend the time to the next charge.

Winner: Sony Xperia Z2. The composite endurance rating gives the Sony a solid lead but, equally important, it also managed to beat its rival in all three of the individual tests.

The battery life of the Samsung Galaxy S5 is certainly not bad, but you will need to charge it more often.